AUGUST 18TH, 2022
Gala Mirissa is an OG crypto artist from Barcelona and has been creating mixed media NFTs since 2018. She is one of the most successful female NFT artists with an enviable list of awards and groundbreaking firsts.
In 2018 she was a finalist for Best Technical Innovation at the Visual Artist Awards in Miami. Her work was also selected for the International Biennial of WomenCinemakers in Berlin, where she spoke about the participation of women in Multimedia Art.
On International Women's Day 2021, BeInCrypto named Gala Mirissa one of the three most influential Hispanic women in the cryptocurrency industry using NFTs.
Her artistic style is versatile, and she is addicted to experimenting with software and playing with photo manipulation, including AI, Generative Art with JavaScript, animations with Adobe and digital paintings.
Gala says, 'The work that I feel most identifies my style is the PAINFUL collection. I suffer from chronic pain due to an autoimmune disease and often feel like I'm being stabbed with pins. In this collection, I reflect on the pain I feel, the love, the hate, my fears, and the most intimate part of my being. My feminine empowerment or my fragility because I am both. I enjoy creating art about women's empowerment, fragility and emotions. Women are my inspiration because we are fragile but have the strength to move on from even the worst situations. My women suffer, but they are fighting heroines who overcome obstacles and social stereotypes without drama.' It is fantastic to see an artist transforming pain into something positive with great art.
I first saw Gala Mirissa's work at the historic WOCA 'She Art' exhibition in Cryptovoxels. Her animated NFT of a faceless woman / WHY HAVE THERE BEEN NO GREAT ARTIST WOMEN / instantly caught my eye. Gala describes the inspiration for the piece, 'Everything we studied about art has been created by men, from sculpture to painting, architecture, illustration, drawing, and engraving. There is a silenced speech in women artists; they appear unfaced and invisible.'
/ WHY HAVE THERE BEEN NO GREAT ARTISTS WOMEN /
/ CHILDHOOD / is another favourite animation in my collection. Illustrating the innocence of children across a range of ethnicities, the message behind the art is powerful. People have human rights. They are the same for everyone and do not distinguish by race, language, disability, nationality or sex. These rights extend to all children, without exception. Irrespective of where they were born, their skin color, and their economic or sexual status. The artist herself also makes a brief appearance in the artwork.
Frequently in the media, Gala was recently a guest on Catalunya Radio in Barcelona with Mariona Dinarés of (Hello Mariona!) discussing NFTs and cryptocurrency.
Gala’s animated artwork has also featured on the cover of ELLE Magazine as the first NFT to appear in a fashion magazine in Spain.
Olive Press dedicated an interview to Gala to celebrate Women's Day 2022 entitled, Taking on the Big Boys.
Her work featuring the iconic actress Audrey Hepburn was recently displayed on the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square, New York advertising the exclusive Crypto Art Island exhibition in Gibraltar.
Much like Hollywood Legend Audrey Hepburn, Gala’s artwork will feature in a new Hollywood movie entitled Fresh Kills, written and directed by actress and author Jennifer Esposito. Another NFT from the movie, The Bridge, splices two subjects together in a relaxing animation that blends day into night using a calming palate, in the style of an old sepia photograph.
The Bridge
As a premier artist, Gala’s work is available on many platforms, including Makersplace, Known Origin, Opensea, Wise.ART, Rarible, Vottun, Async.art. However, similar to other talented women artists, she was rejected by SuperRare!
But it hasn’t been a bed of roses for Gala. Recently her wallet was hacked. Hearing of Gala’s misfortune, I contacted her to ask if there was anything I could do. I then learned that this misfortune was only the latest setback in a saga about NFT artwork that she had entrusted to a traditional art gallery to sell on her behalf. The gallery minted the NFT under their contract, and the NFT sold to a collector for over $15k. But almost a year later, Gala was still waiting to be paid. The gallery stole her art!
I have a confession to make. As a collector, I am keen to ensure artists get paid for their work. I contacted the gallery in question to find out more about their process to pay NFT artists for their work. They responded, “We have amicable agreements with all our artists whether physical or digital prior to marketing on any platform. Was there a particular artist you had interest in?” When I told them I was particularly interested in Gala Mirissa, I GOT NO FURTHER RESPONSE! Since my email, I am happy to report that the gallery did the decent thing. Gala has now been paid.
Gala is most proud of her artwork Feet why do I want them if I have wings to fly. Frida Kahlo fought against physical pain and enjoyed life without caring about the criticism of others. Another favourite is But you don´t look sick because this work defines 100% who Gala is. Only people close to her realize the artwork is a self-portrait.
Gala is passionate about tender, sad, or moving art by artists such as Dunja Jung, Indrani Mitra, and Federico Bebber. She also admires the work of Anna Zhilyaeva, Gisel Florez, and Hair of Medusa.
When asked what she would like to see changed about the NFT community, she says, ‘It bothers me when people say that there are only a few women in NFTs; there are many. Are we invisible? Why are there only ~ ten women on the 100 top sales in cryptoart.io? We talk about decentralized art without realizing that money and power continue to be held by men and that there are almost no visible women collectors.’
She is also frustrated by art galleries and scammers who approach NFT artists and offer to sell NFTs on the artist’s behalf, making money from the artist’s efforts. The magic of NFTs is that artists can sell without intermediaries.
In future, Gala hopes that NFTs will continue to grant artists rights over their work and for more equality in sales and recognition between men and women.
Last year, Gala Mirissa was named one of the top 10 women NFT artists to look out for. She continues to break new ground with her work. Gala is collaborating on a documentary programme, ‘En Portada’, about the Metaverse, which will appear on Spanish TV.
Gala is currently working on her first generative art project, SHE-HEALS, collaborating with NFT Art Gallery Studio, NFTMania. SHE-HEALS is an inclusive community helping women overcome personal issues. Each of the 5000 NFTs empowers women with a positive message of personal growth and resilience to heal with art.
Watch out, crypto Bros; the women are here.
